MovieChat Forums > The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977) Discussion > Better Movie In 1977

Better Movie In 1977

posted 12 years ago by lostsok0523-654-279444
2 replies | jump to latest

Just watched this again on The MLB Channell, and...it doesn't hold up well. The direction and editing is very clunky, and there's a lot of dead spots where people just seem to meander. The kids were still great, especially JEH as a delinquent when that still meant having an attitude...not a gun and a record. I like William Devane, and it't certainly unfair to criticize his performance compared to Walter Matthau as Buttermaker. No one was going to clear that bar, and he at least brings a professional and nuanced presence to the latter half of the film.

This was great at the time, and it still watchable, but the production value simply doesn't compare to the original.

Way better than that Goes To Japan franchise-killer that came next, though.

[–] MortimerSpice 10 years ago

I thought Devane was really good in this movie. I actually like this one better than the first with Walter Mathau. At that age I just couldn't get in to a baseball movie that the best player was a chick. I don't feel like that now at 38 but at 6 or 7 that was my feeling

[–] sage2112 8 years ago

Disagree. It was just as clunky then as it is now, and it never held a candle to the overall quality of the original.

But with that said, I've always liked the film and it has its unique charms. I'd watch this over and over again in favor of most of the cgi video game flicks of today.